Little Dark Room
by Mom Stalks You
Summary: In a small Jewish ghetto, Levi meets a strange and angry boy. But with Hitler gaining more and more power over the people of Germany, both his feelings and religion will be tested.
1. Chapter 1

Hello! This is my first Attack on Titan fanfic, just letting you know. But I am the Hanji of the real world and I just wanted to warn you that there may be crack in later chapters. Always remember to read my author's note!

* * *

I stared at the clock. They would be ready any minute now; my heart was racing. Finally, the front door swung open. I jumped to my feet like the impatient seven-year-old I was and ran into my mother to hug her. She smiled and stroked my hair delicately. "Were you waiting long, Eren?" I grinned at her and shook my head wildly, messing up my dark hair. "That's good. Let me put my things away and we can can go."

I chased after her as she walked to our room to set down her bag and put her money in the little locked chest on her dresser. She said that when she was pregnant with me the economy was so terrible that she had to get the chest to save up money to take care of me when I was born. We also saved our money in it while we planning to send dad to America to study. It had been two years since he had left and I knew he'd be happy when he saw how tall I'd gotten when he got back.

I then ran ahead of her and out the front door, where I saw the Braus's potato cart before me. I raised my hand to wave at Sasha, who was sitting up front with her dad. She was gnawing on one of her boiled potatoes as she waved back with a smile. My mom exited the house. "Ready to go?" I nodded and ran to the back of the cart and pulled myself up where my mother sat next to me.

I looked at the front window of our house and point out what I had been wondering about since that morning when I went to go help Mrs. Kirstein clean her house. "What's that for?" I ask my mother.

She looks at the Star of David painted on our window. "The Führer said that everyone Jewish had to have it painted on their window." I look down the street of the ghetto. Seeing a star painted on every window like she said.

* * *

On the last Sunday of every month my Mother and I would take one of the farmers' wagons that went from our Jewish ghetto to Berlin; there we would buy a piece of fancy German chocolate at a shop owned by a friend of my parents. My mother would have him cut in half and we each would enjoy one of the halves. I always got the bigger one. We would then walk to the foreign book store and buy a book that described the Americas, Asia, and parts of Europe that I would never get to see. The Nazis practically kept us in a cage, something that could only be described as a dark little room; and that's why I loved the end of the month.

We got off the Braus's wagon and thanked them for the ride. "Be back at five?" Sasha's father asked.

"Of course." My mother said with a nod.

* * *

As we exited the bookstore I licked the roof of my mouth, the taste of chocolate and imported coconut lingering. I clung to the fat book on the ocean and the medieval theories on its sea life. When my mother suddenly came to a stop, she grabbed my hand. She stared out into an alleyway in front of us she then called out in German to someone hiding in the dark. I clench her hand and get closer to her warm body. Though I am German born, I only speak Yiddish and for synagogue, Hebrew.

A chill runs down my spine, like I've felt this presence before and then a figure appeared into the light and I see that he is completely naked. He has shaggy, jaw length hair and small, bloodshot eyes his arms are wrapped around his chest his hands hiding behind his back. Something's wrong. I yank on my mother's hand. "Mom, let's get out of here, his head's not okay." I whisper.

The bookshop owner, Hans, came out of the building and walked toward us when he saw the man his eyes narrowed and he stepped in front of us. "Get Eren out of here, Mrs. Jaegar." He says sternly.

But just as Hans finished his sentence, the man screamed angrily in perfect Yiddish, "Burn in Hell, you damn kike!" He pulled a pistol out from behind his back. Blood splattered across my face as the bullet went straight through Hans- and into my mother's stomach. I collapsed in fear and the man then shot himself in the skull.

I looked at my mother's face, which wore a horrified expression. "Mom? Get up! Mom! Mom!" I screamed, shaking her body.

* * *

I was taken home by police car that night. Later I learned that my father had been on his way home, but his ship was caught in a storm and went down. And from that day on, I vowed to hate every Nazi for how they treated Jews; for what they taught the general public to believe. I couldn't help but hope for their deaths.

* * *

I know, short opening, but Levi will be introduced next chapter, I promise!


	2. Chapter 2

Just a warning- Erwin and Hanji appear in this chapter. Except Erwin is a little kid and Hanji is in her late thirties. Erwin, Hanji, and Levi are all related and have the last name Schwartz, a common Jewish surname. REMEMBER: ERWIN HAS LITTLE KID LOGIC! Anyway, I digress, enjoy.

* * *

1939, Berlin

When I opened the door to our apartment, I didn't realize that what I was about to see was a statement of what would later happen to during the reign of Hitler. It was my older sister, Zoe, who was sprawled across the floor half naked and brutally maimed. She was passed out, with her glasses smashed, her leg twisted the wrong way, her hair chopped off, and male semen squelching from her crotch. She was barely gasping in air.

That was the day we had to leave Berlin only for what we were. I was out of work. Fired, because one of my own comrades, who fought by my side during the World War reported me for practicing Judaism. Now, I am riding a wagon to go to some damned Jewish ghetto in the Bronx. Erwin leans on Zoe, who sits across from me. Her ruined hair is covered with cloth, and she clings to the crutch next to her. The attack on our home made Erwin snap; he no longer talked, and he always wore a face that said Everything wrong with the world is my fault. He was teased at school and picked on by the teachers, and now he clung to one of us every minute of the day as if to make sure we didn't disappear like mom and dad did.

When we came to a stop I was appalled by the filthy neighborhood before me. I was used to stone streets, not mud ones. Here, I would live the rest of my life in filth, I would wake up every morning to climb to the farms in the hills so I could grow the food that the bastards that ruined my life would end up putting in their mouths.

The driver turned and said, "I'll have Jean and Marco come over to help you unpack since it will only be you moving things," looking at me.

"Thank you." I say calmly giving him a tip.

I hopped down onto the dirty path that led into the ghetto and turned to my little brother. "Ready, Eyebrows?" I ask sarcastically, holding out my arms. He sticks his tongue out at me and I do the same to him as he jumps down himself. "Careful, Zoe it's a bit high up." I tell the older one as stumbles to her feet.

"I know." She says calmly as I easily catch her. "Is this place driving you crazy yet, Levi?" She chuckles.

"Don't you start." I snap at her. She can only laugh.

After bringing all our bags into the new house and setting up Zoe's chair she smiles over at me. "Can you head to the market and buy some bread, flour, bones, and vegetables? I'll cook stew tonight." I nod and head out. At least in the ghetto she'll be safe.

* * *

Upon arriving at the bakery, I was given a rather unpleasant welcome from a strange girl leaving the shop; as I opened the door, she came running out, clutching a bag of bread to her flat chest. Her hair was held in a low ponytail that flipped over her shoulder and her apron was tattered and dirty. Her head was covered by a piece of cloth. I attempted to not look disgusted by her appearance and calmly said, "Sorry about that, are you okay?" I was even kind of pissed that she was taller than me, but I have to admit that she was pretty cute.

She took a moment to look me over and then a wave of realization came over her face. "Captain Schwartz?" She asked with a glare. I remembered that there were many war stories about me and simply nodded. Then she scowled and shoved past me; I heard her faintly grumble: "Military bastard."

I walked into the store and sighed. The young, sweet looking blond girl behind the counter smiled at me shyly. "Sorry about that, did Eren give you a rough time?" Eren. Even her name is cute. "Eren's been a shut in since her mother died. She's always so angry, I wish I could do something for her."

A muscular dark skinned girl strides in with a pan of fresh bread. "Hey, Christa, give it up. That nut's never gonna get over it, you know that, right?"

"Ymir! At least try to be a little positive!" Christa scolded the other girl. "Well, try to understand that she's had it hard these last few years. Even Armin's been having a hard time communicating with her." I started to worry. It was most likely that her life was changed by some antisemitic asshole from the government or something. It couldn't really be helped. We were Jews, no one cared about us anyway.

I bought my bread and headed out the door. "Shalom." I said to Ymir and Christa.

* * *

I dropped off the bread at home and headed out again for the other groceries. Then I noticed a black automobile at the end of the street and a crowd. I trudged over through the mud to find out what was happening, only to find the Gestapo handing out yellow fabric Stars of David. Each held the German word on it, 'Juden' meaning 'Jew'. A translator stood shouting, "Each of you must wear one of these when you leave this town. You have no choice, as this is an order from the Führer himself!"

I covered my face with my hair so no one would recognize me as THE Captain Schwartz when I went to receive my badge. But before I could push my way to the front of the crowd, I heard someone angrily scream, "Murderers!" It was none other than Eren shoving past her neighbors. I looked over a woman's shoulder to see her face. I had seen none other like it. It was too filled with rage and lust for vengeance to describe.

"Excuse me?" The translator asked rudely.

"Eight years ago when my mother was killed by a man who lost his job, all the police did was send me home telling me that she would die for being a Jew anyway. It was your bastard Führer who blamed the shitty economy on us! What the hell did we ever do to you people? What do you want?!"

"Listen, you little brat-" He starts.

This is bad, she'll end up getting killed at this rate. I can see him reaching for his gun.

Finally, I make up my mind and shove through the crowd, only the second before I reach her does she look at me with a horrified expression. I raise my leg into the air and slam my knee into her stomach. She chokes on her own breath and I slam my elbow into the back of her neck. She collapses, and under the cloth on her head I catch a glimpse of something that truly enrages me. She rolls onto her side writhing in pain before I kick again in the chest. She coughs then passes out cold.

The Gestapo bastards and the townsfolk alike stare at me in horror, wondering how I could beat her so easily. "Who the hell are you?" The translator stammers, badly attempting to hold back the fear in his voice.

I shove the greasy hair that hadn't been washed in days out of my face. "Third Division Squad Captain Levi Schwartz." I snarl at him in German using the same filthy tongue that I had since my teenage years as a gangster.

"Squad Captain Schwartz?! B-but what are you doing here?" Apparently, word of my ass getting the boot hasn't gotten too far.

"Thats confidential, but I'll tell you that I keep them in line here. So no need to use force. Now finish your business and get the hell out." I snatch four badges from the stunned officer's hands then heft Eren over my shoulder, and trudge back to my house, the crowd's gazes burning into my back.

* * *

I look into the front window of my house and see Erwin quietly playing with his blocks- which he must have unpacked himself. On his hands are several scratches from the boxes which contained our few belongings.

When I slam the front door Erwin looks up at me and his stoic expression changes to surprise. And for the first time in what feels like forever- he spoke. "Z-Zoe! Levi got married!"

"WHAT?!" Zoe and I yell in unison. Only then do I realize that I'm holding Eren like a princess. I hear the clunking of Zoe's crutch before her head pops into the room.

Zoe and Erwin can't help but stare at me in awe before Zoe starts giggling like a mad woman. "L-Levi, you're beet red!"

"WH-WHAT WAS THAT, FOUR-EYES?! COME OVER HERE SO I CAN KICK YOUR ASS!" I yell in German so Erwin can't understand.

"Even like this, you could never catch me with those stubby little legs!" She cackles.

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"START SPEAKING YIDDISH!" Erwin screams over Zoe and I.

The sound of the three of us arguing makes Eren's eyes flutter open. Upon seeing my face, she screams and manages to struggle out of my arms. "See, your fugly mug can make anyone scream." Zoe smirks, "So who is she? Did you knock her up or something? No, if you two had done it, she'd have more than screamed."

"So you are from the military." She snarls at me with a glare the could kill. She must only speak Yiddish.

I revert my language back to Yiddish stride up to her. "Listen brat, I'm sorry for hitting you, but you need to be careful. If I hadn't been there you'd have been shot by that Gestapo bastard."

Her eyes narrow. "Who are you?"

"My name is Levi Schwartz. I was a military captain for Germany during the World War." I sigh, remembering the days of slaughter during the war. The screams of agony that belonged to my friend Auruo echoed in my mind. The images of him getting his infected leg removed were scorched into my brain like a brand on a cow's ass. The worst part for me was returning to Berlin to give the bodies back. The poor man never even saw Petra's new born.

Eren's expression changes, she probably saw the regret in my eyes. "But I would like to know something, why-" Before I can finish, she suddenly collapses to the ground holding her chest and clenching her eyes shut.

"Oh my goodness!" Zoe gasped she limped the Eren's side and bent over her. "Levi! What did you do?!" The question became obviously rhetorical as she has Eren slowly stand and walk with her to another room to patch her up.

"So... Um... Did you guys get married?" Erwin asks.

"Don't start that again." I groan.

* * *

Shortly after Eren disappeared into my sister's room I hear the clunking of Zoe's crutch again. "Uh, Levi, you might want to see this..." Zoe whispers after limping to my side. I stand and slowly follow her to her bedroom and watch her shut the door gently. Eren is breathing heavily while biting her lip. Shit, I must have accidentally hit too hard.

Zoe sits on the bed opposite to me and delicately opens Eren's blouse; revealing a flat chest; Eren seems to be in too much pain to take notice. I stare for a minute before I turn to Zoe with a glare. "What? You honestly expect me to be so shallow as to judge a woman by her chest?"

"What? No, you idiot! I mean this!" This time around, Eren shrieks as Zoe yanks up her skirt.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? PERVERT!" Then Zoe pulls down Eren's underwear, showing off 'her' little you-know-what.

* * *

You guys probably know what's coming, huh? Sorry about the crack. -_-;


End file.
